


The Shard of Tangata

by acheron (Ezra_Oleson)



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Battle, Destiny, Fallen, Gen, Lore - Freeform, fireteam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 11:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4303068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ezra_Oleson/pseuds/acheron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following the collapse of the Black Garden and the beginnings of the invasions led by the omnipotent Taken King, the Guardians of Earth are in high demand and, unfortunately, short supply. Most of the attacks have been reported to be around Luna and the outer planets as Oryx's great army continue their trek toward Sol, but the Tower is caught by surprise when reports flood in about a series of bizarre bursts of Light in and around wrecked French Polynesia. Three skilled, though amateur Guardians are sent to investigate, and what they find will throw the City itself into a spiral.</p><p>The story is set during the beginning of "the Taken King," though I clearly don't know everything considering that it hasn't come out quite yet. If you're reading this, I love you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro - the Tower

When the self-proclaimed Cheeky Rabbit Fireteam received a group notification from Commander Zavala himself, it was Odyssey-553 who nearly exploded in an unprecedented burst of emotion. The fireteam had gotten collectively restless over the last few weeks, during which time an admittedly terrifying army of mutated Hive had been overrunning Guardians in the field with disturbing grace. Though the leaders of the Vanguard had been calling in almost every Guardian to face Oryx, Cheeky Rabbit Fireteam was one of the rejected amateur teams. Kavera Patallis, their logician, blamed it on Pietro Alkaev's absolute lack of skill with a sniper rifle in a previous scouting mission. The mistake led to the loss of his pinky finger, which was unfortunate, but in the end he admitted that he couldn't care less. It was Odyssey who reacted with horror and left to get some fresh air. In her final act of biting wit, Kavera pointed out that being an exo and therefore mechanical, Odyssey-553 literally couldn't enact the gesture of going out for fresh air. Nobody spoke to Patallis for days after and they were forced to correspond when Zavala sent out a bit of a casting call.

"I haven't reviewed your case specifically," Zavala noted, skimming over the report that lay before him. "An anonymous Vanguard director informed me that despite your accident, Alkaev, you three would be suited to perform a small investigation in what was once known as French Polynesia."

The room got very quiet. At last, Pietro Alkaev spoke up. "That's where the Colossal Servitor vaporized Kel Havana."

Zavala nodded solemnly. "I understand your concern. Our scanners have since identified that the Colossal Servitor is most likely absent at this time. You won't be expected to face such an adversary. No... You will be handling something much less intense."

"Thank you, Commander," Kavera intoned, breaking eye contact. "Perhaps you should send us after a clutch of shanks instead."

Commander Zavala pursed his lips and formulated a response. He failed to notice when Odyssey's ocular receptors flickered with well-disguised mirth. "Patallis, I can almost ensure that you and your team will return alive. If there was any obvious danger, we would have chosen a more experienced fireteam. Now, are you all up for the challenge?"

"Of course," Odyssey-553 gushed. "It would be an honor."

Pietro shrugged and absently tapped out a beat on the butt of the hand cannon that was magnetized to his belt. "We'll do it. A scan and report, right?"

"If we meet a challenge, I'll be sure to call upon you and a post-Vault fireteam, Commander," Kavera promised. "Our ineptitude will surely gain us a high mark and a generous sum of glimmer. We'll bring glory to the name of--"

Odyssey cut her off and bowed, momentarily darkening one ocular receptor in the facsimile of a wink. "We will be back soon, Commander Zavala. Good day to you."

Zavala cracked a forced smile. "And to you."


	2. Turbulence

Despite his numerous claims otherwise, it was soon discovered that Pietro Alkaev was completely inept at piloting a spacecraft in-atmosphere. Sure, he could do a fly-by of Mars and dodge all the Cabal patrol vessels at a good five thousand miles per hour, but a casual trip around the globe was apparently too much. After a smatter of bickering, it was decided that Pietro would dwell in the cargo hold of Odyssey-553's craft, which would be closely escorted to Polynesia by Kavera and her Ghost, which was also evidently incapable of shutting up. She had affectionately named him Peter, much to the dismay of Pietro, who claimed that it was a direct attack on his ego, to which Kavera responded, "Your ego."

"Back when I was manufactured," Odyssey began, gesturing toward the wide ocean that spread below, "Great ships would traverse those oceans and take people from city to city."

Pietro barked out a short laugh from the cargo hold, which lacked stabilizers. It was a bumpy ride. "You were manufactured hundreds of years ago," he replied. "No way you'll remember that."

"I don't understand," Odyssey replied, and by this point his tone was confused. 

Kavera patched into the link. "Odyssey, the Collapse erased everything. Your Ghost revived you, like every other Guardian, and thus, your old mind has been dead for centuries. Are you sure you haven't been dreaming?"

"Clear as day," Odyssey-553 remarked, quietly growing frustrated. "I remember what happened. I thought the other exo do too."

Pietro lifted his buttocks from the seat to avoid another patch of turbulence and he mused, "If you're telling the truth, this is gonna make headlines. The Golden Age is a whisper and basically everyone would be clawing at the Tower doors to hear your stories. But for now, we've--"

"Take it easy on the Zavala mannerisms," Kavera called. "It's okay to kiss his ass when you are around him but I ask that you limit it when we're on missions."

The hunter Alkaev huffed and patched out of the link, leaving the other two to pilot in peace. After departing from the Last City in Chile, the ride over the Pacific was mostly uninteresting. Scatterings of islands adorned the sea below for a while but it eventually gave way to choppy waves and heavy clouds. Pietro was particularly fascinated with watching thunderstorms from above as he peered through the glass partition that separated the interior of the cargo hold from the rest of the world. He had expected the world outside of the City to be rife with Fallen and Hive as the Speaker had claimed, but it was mostly just rainy and empty. And, of course, very green. There was a point at which Odyssey recognized that they could have been moving faster, and he patched his question over to Kavera.

She replied that she was merely enjoying the view. Despite her offer to speed up the journey, Odyssey stayed quiet and they continued to race far above the glittering blue expanse that adorned the equator. The fireteam slowly made their way northwest, unintentionally leaning in on the throttle that ended up granting them a quick arrival to their destination. The waters around the islands sparkled light blue and they reflected the sun in a crystalline way unlike anything the Guardians had ever seen. Kavera led the two spacecraft in for a landing, looping around over the smaller island that had been labelled something like Moorea. As Pietro cackled to himself about the name, Kavera surrendered control of her craft to her Ghost, Peter, and the trio transmaterialized on the island's concrete surface.

Upon closer inspection, Odyssey identified the ruined concrete strip as an airport. "This is where more primitive, transcontinental shuttles would dock for the transportation of citizens and supplies. It's been ruined for a while but it is a good spot to set up camp."

Beyond the airport, further inland, the land arced up and formed a massive green mountain, awash with forests and glittering white waterfalls. Aside from the pounding of the waves, the place was mostly quiet. When Kavera's Ghost finally succumbed to her requests of silence, they noticed the gentle songs of sea birds and the laughable cries of sea lions that basked near the shoreline. Odyssey regarded the land with a sort of reserved reverence and then proceeded to deploy a very temporary campsite that would offer a rally point for Cheeky Rabbit fireteam while they explored the area. Pietro sat on one of the folding chairs, pushed back his hood, and bounced his knife on his knee.

"I remember reports of abnormally large waves around here," Pietro noted. "Anything we should worry about?"

Kavera shook her head. "Zavala himself issued to us this mission and you are worried about waves. If I were you, I would train those nimble hunter eyes to identify a Fallen skiff."

Odyssey twitched his head and focused on his Ghost, who was finishing up a rant about tidal waves. "Alkaev's concern is valid. I will run further scans once my mobile loads out, but for now I would focus on a potential Fallen presence. The Traveler's Light is diminishing here and I feel as if the Darkness is lurking around the next corner."


End file.
